Robert Earl Bird

Robert Bird 1915-2015 Robert Earl Taylor Bird, 99, Livingston, Texas, formerly of Princeton, passed away Sunday, January 25, 2015 at Liberty Village in Princeton. Funeral services will be held on Friday, January 30, at 10 a.m. at the United Pentecostal Church of Princeton, with the Reverend Ron Townsley officiating. Burial will be in Elm Lawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be held from 5-7 P.M. Thursday, January 29 at Norberg Memorial Home. Robert (Bob) Bird was born on June 29, 1915 in Finney County, Kansas to George B. and Mary (Taylor) Bird. After spending the early years of his life in the southern states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, he moved to and fell in love with “the black soil” of Princeton, Il. in 1947. After retiring from farming at the age of 55, he changed careers and began building his first subdivision on the northwest edge of Princeton, Bird Haven. Bird Real Estate and Development Company soon followed. The face of Princeton began to change as he built a total of nine subdivisions and apartment buildings. In 1956 he organized and became a charter member of the United Pentecostal Church of Princeton. Not only did he use his own resources to help in the purchase of their first facility on Main Street but later donated the land south of town where the current building is located. Bob married Ina Mae (Gripe) in 1935. Together they had seven children and 37 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter (Lora Bird Cagle) a son, Attorney Donald Richard Bird, his beloved wife of 47 years, Ina Mae, 2 grandchildren, his parents, and all ten of his siblings. Following Ina’s death, he married Agnes Fye in 1983. He leaves behind his wife, Agnes Fye Bird; five children: Phyllis (John) Nordstrom of Ottawa, Robert (Paulette) Bird Jr. and Margaret Stanfield of Princeton, Garry (Sandra) Bird of Groveport, Ohio, Linda (Dane) Lair, Paris, Texas, and a daughter-in-law, Carol Bird; as well as 35 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind five stepchildren: Larry (Julie) Fye of Livingston Tx, Dorreen (Bob) Bozeman of Princeton, Sandy Mains and Cheryl (Darryl) Becker of Trego, Wi and Dick (Kim) Fye, of Maryville, Tn.; as well as sixteen step-grandchildren. In a recent “Grandfather Remembers” book, he wrote: “My family was very poor, but they were the most loving mother and father one could ever want. When I didn’t get to go to school (past the 6th grade), I wanted to give my children all the education they wanted. I have done that. I give God all the glory, all the praise, for anything I have done.” In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the United Pentecostal Church of Princeton.

Robert Earl Bird

June 29, 1915 - January 25, 2015